Method of providing for the extinguishment of fires in mines.



PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905. J. KRZYZANOWSKI & S. WYSOGKI. METHOD OF PROVIDING FOR THE EXTINGUISHMENT 0P FIRES IN MINES.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 17, 1903.

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wlruesssij A TTOHNEYS.

No. 807,290. PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905,

J. KRZYZANOWSKI & S. WYSOGKI. METHOD OF PROVIDING FOR THE BXTINGUISHMBN'I' 0F FIRES IN MINES.

ANPLIUATION FILED OCT. 17, 1903.

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(lumen-tow UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD OF PROVIDING FOR THEEXTINGUISHMENT 0F FIRES IN MINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed. October 17,1903. Serial No. 177,477.

To all whom, itmcty concern:

Be it known that we, JosnPH KRzYzANoWsKI and STANIsLAUs WYSOOKI, subjects of the Emperor of Russia, and residents of J uzowka, in the Empire of Russia, have invented a new and useful Method of Providing for the Extinguishment of Fires in Mines, of which the following is a specification.

For extinguishing mine-fires, more particularly those extending very rapidly, hitherto a well-known method was employed which consists in shutting up or separating the respective gallery with two or several dams or board walls, so as to prevent, on the one hand, the fresh air from entering the gallery and enlarging the fire and, on the other .hand, to prevent the smoke and fire-gases from extending in all directions into the other galleries through the air-roads and the air-shafts. This method is, however, most defective and objectionable, for the reason that the construction of the dams or board walls can only take place after the outbreak of the fire, and it requires a rather long time for finishing them, during which time the rapidly-propagating gases of the fire may already have filled all the parts of the mine between the place of the fire and the air-shafts and suffocated most, if not all, the miners.

Our invention relates to a new method of extinguishing mine-fires, by which any gallery can be shut up or separated the moment it is on fire, and thus every danger of suffocation threatening the miners is avoided.

Our new method of providing for the extinguishment of fires in mines consists in dividing the mine into sections distributed lengthwise along the principal air-passage, setting up in the principal air-passage which connects said sections permanent but normally open closing devices, one at each end of each section, and providing means for closing at will any or all such devices, so as to prevent thereby the ingress of air to and the egress of smoke and fire-gasesfrom said closed section or sections.

In order to better explain our invention, we

will now proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a cross-section through a gallery and a front view of a two-winged opened trap- 'Fig. 5 is a cross-section, on an enlarged scale,

through an electric arrangement for operating the trap-door, taken, for example, on the line a b in Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of a mine fitted with closingdevices in accordance with the improved method.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As is well known mines, are provided with a plurality of passages, a principal air-passage and subsidiary ventilating air-passages. To enable our process to be carried out, it is essential that the mine consist of one principal air-passage, one end of which is connected with the air-inlet shaft and the other to the air-outlet shaft. The principal airpassage is provided with a number of trap- 'doors arranged at certain distances, so as to divide the mine into sections along the principal air-passage. Tunnels also may be similarly provided with trap-doors or with other suitable closing means, which divide the tunnel into sections.

Each trap-door may be provided with two wings 1 1, (see Figs. 1 and 2,) turning around vertical axes at the sides of the frame 2. These wings 1 1 are normally held in their opened positions by means of suitable weights 3 3 and ropes or chains led over guiding-rollers, which latter are mounted in brackets of any known kind (not shown) and secured to the walls of the gallery. The frame 2 may be of brickwork or any other material, and the trap-door 1 1 may be of wood, iron, or other material. The two wings 1 1 are further connected by ropes or chains 4 4 with two pulleys keyed upon the arbor of an electric motor (similar to in Fig. 5) outside the casing 6, the ropes or chains 4: 4: being led over suitable guiding-rollers, (similar to 5 and9 in Fig. 5.) Within the casing 6 two electromagnets (similar to 7 in Fig. 5) are arranged, the armatures (similar to 13 in Fig. 5) of which are fastened on the two wings 1 1, and the coils of the two electromagnets are 10 connected in multiple with the electric motor. In the one wire between each electromagnet-coil and the binding-post of the electric motor two contact-springs (similar to 8 8 in Fig. 5) are inserted, which normally touch each other. On each wing 1 an insulated pin fllgmilar to 11 in Fig. 5) is secured, which carries on its end a tapering piece (similar to 12 in Fig. 5) of insulating material, which can enter through an opening provided in the wall of the casing 6 and detach the two contact-springs (8 8 in Fig. 5) to break the circuit. The said wire of the electromagnet-coil is further connected by a separate wire with the circuit leading to the source of electricity 2 5 on the central station.

It will now be evident that when from the central station the respective circuit is closed the current will first cause the electric motor to run and to wind the ropes or chains & 4 on 0 its pulleys against the action of the weights 3 3, thus closing the two wings 1 1 of the trap-door until the tapering pieces (12 in Fig. 5) disconnect the electric motor from the circuit, while the two electromagnets attract 3 5 their armatures, and thereby secure the two wings of the trap-door in their closed positions as long as the fire is not yet extinguished and all danger both for human beings and for material is not over. Only after the delivery of the miners and when no further damage by the fire need be feared the circuit is again broken from the central station, when the trap-door will be released and allowed to be opened by the weights 3 3. Preferably the edges of the door-frame 2 and those of the door-wings 1 1 are lined with strips of indiarubber, asbestos, or other similar material for procuring a perfect air-tight closure of the trap-door, and thus preventing air and smoke from passing over.

This arrangement affords the advantage that the least amount of electric current will be required for closing the trap-door, as it is the electric motor which requires more electric current than the electromagnets, and the' former needs but make a few revolutions for closing the trap-door, whereupon it is disengaged in the manner described, and only the coils of the two electromagnets remain in the circuit to energize the magnets until the fire has ceased, which may be after several days or even weeks, according to the circumstances, during which time the circuit must remain closed. Thus a comparatively small quantity of electric current will be sufficient for secur- 5 ing the respective trap-doors in their closed positions until all dangers are over. This means a saving of money.

For conveying warnings or informations from different points or sections of the mine 7 to the central station, and vice versa, electrical devices of any known construction or descriptionsuch as electrical alarms, electric signal apparatuses, telephones, and so onare preferably disposed on convenient places of the mine and on the central station and connected by wires. Should afire be discovered in any section, the proper information can be sent by the discoverer to the central station, whereupon the respective circuits are closed to actuate the corresponding trap-doors, care being of course taken to previously warn the miners, so that these are enabled to save themselves before the trap-doors are closed.

It is immaterial of what kind or construc- 5 tion the trap-doors are. For example, Figs.

3 and 4 show a single trap-door 1 turning around a horizontal axis on the top of the door-frame Qand being normally held in its horizontal opened positions by a lever and 9 weight 3. The door 1 is connected with the pulley 13' on the arbor 1 1 of the electric motor 5, Fig. 5, by means of a rope or chain 4:,

led over suitable guiding-rollers 10 9. This construction of the trap-door is specially suitable for galleries in which rail-tracks are laid. In the normal state the passage is completely free, while in the event of a fire or danger the trap -door is closed in the manner described above and secured in the closed posi- 0 tion by the electromagnet 7 until all danger is removed and the current is broken, when the trap-door will be automatically returned to its horizontal opened position by the weight 3. Of course the trap-door 1 may be held 1 5 in its opened position in any other known manner by springs or weights.

The new method described so far presents the important advantage that any section of themine (or tunnel) can be shut up in a few 11 minutes or even seconds and with perfect safety, so that the fire can be limited very quickly owing to the stoppage of the air-supply, while no smoke and no fire-gases are allowed to extend into the other sections of the 5 mine, so that the lives of the miners therein are no longer endangered, as hitherto. The

method of extinguishing fires occurring in mines is equally applicable to fires occurring in tunnels, and although the applicability of the method herein described is claimed solely in connection with mines we do not wish to limit ourselves thereto.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The method herein described of providing for the extinguishment of fires in mines, which consists in dividing the mine into sections distributed lengthwise along the principal airpassage, setting up in the principal air-passage, which connects said sections, permanent but normally open closing devices, one at each end of each section, and providing means for closing at will any or all such devices.

In testimony whereof we have signed our 5 names to this specification in the presence of the subscribing wltnesses.

JOSEPH KRZYZANOWSKI. STANISLAUS WYSOOKI.

Witnesses as to the signature of Joseph Krzyzanowski:

M. FOLDFUOHS, M. B. OLTREWSKI. Witnesses as to the signature of Stanislaus Wysocki:

J. ST. CARALLI, JOHN G. MARTIN. 

